Bobby Hughes says a few more minutes and the car fire outside his home could have destroyed a lot more than just his truck.
"It probably would have caught the house on fire," Hughes said. Hughes is lucky fire fighters quickly found his home. Hughes is one of many people whose homes don't have an address right on the house and the number on his mailbox is faded and difficult to read. It's a problem fire fighters say could cost someone their life. "If it's not a burning house fire that's our problem because if you call in that there's smoke in your house that's not something that's visible so we can easily pass that up and not see it," Easley Fire Chief Butch Womack said. Chief Womack says when responding to a fire every second counts. "A fire doubles in size every minute," Womack said. And the problem is the same in Greenville County. South Greenville Battalion Chief Robert Burgess says he's worried about when he gets called out on medical emergencies because Burgess says if someone's having a heart attack those extra minutes could be fatal. "If you get someone who has a serious medical issue it can actually cost them their life," Burgess said. Burgess says if you think spotting an address is hard, try doing it at night.
That's why first responders want you to follow some easy steps that could help them reach you.
Always have your address on your house somewhere near the front door.
If your home sits more than 50 feet from the road have your address on your mail box, preferably a reflective number so they are visible in the dark.
The numbers should also be at least 2 to 3 inches tall so they can easily be seen from the road.
Not clearly displaying your address isn't just unsafe it's actually against the law.
South Carolina law requires all homes and businesses to property post their 911 address.
If your address isn't visible it is a misdemeanor, and you could receive a fine of up to $200.
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